only few records have been saved, we are still not sure of our own architecture. In our contemporary era, many buildings are of the Spaniards and above inspiration. Multiple countries colonized us, as this affects our architecture. Let us lapse to the period before the Spanish came. What are the edifices seeable? Unlike other countries with records, we may have a bad time discovering. Fig 1. The Negritos EARLY PERIODS
• The indigenous tribes of the Philippines CAVE DWELLINGS
that were quite a diverse group and of • Cave dwellings is the earliest human nomadic nature had little art of building to habitation. speak of. - The Tabon Cave, Palawan had been • Their architectural art was revealed in their inhabited for 30,000 years houses of nipa, cogon and bamboo. - Tabon cave are a set of caves in • Suitable to the tropical conditions of the Quezon, Palawan, Philippines. They islands. are famous for the found skullcap • During this period, Filipinos established remains of the Tabon Man, which are their villages near bodies of water where 22,000 years old. Bones of elephants mostly food were taken from the sea, also have also been found in the area from agricultural environment. signifying that the Philippines was once • In both environment houses were not built connected to mainland Asia. permanently & therefore light & flexible materials were used. • 25,000 B.C. Ancient Negroid people immigrate to the Philippines over a land bridge then still connecting the archipelago with the Asian mainland. • They are food gatherers and hunters, and the forefathers of today's Negritos. These people use bows and arrows and stone made implements. They live in caves.
attempt at building • Served as shelters during a hunting or food- gathering journey • Made of light branches and fronds, but strong enough to Mindanao & Sulu Region withstand a storm
TREE HOUSES
• Perched on forked branches of trees, up to
Fig 3. The Angono Petroglyphs 60 feet above the ground • Prevented attack by animals and human - Caves in Angono, Rizal with ancient enemies petroglyphs
LEAN-TO
Fig 4. Early Tree Houses
Fig 4. Lean-To Houses
-End of Section- • However, earliest type of shelter which man built is called Lean-To, consisted of a simple, single pitched roof resting on an inclined series of rafters made- up of tree branches w/ the end resting of the ground & the other end resting horizontal wooden lintel supported by tree trunks and roofed with grass